Article: Winter Driving
- Thread starter Wayne
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thanks Matt (and Wayne 
Cheers for that, I'll try to remember it all whilst driving around the northumberland fells tomorrow morning.
Will also be showing it to the other guys at work. Someone already crashed a hilux this week 😳
Will also be showing it to the other guys at work. Someone already crashed a hilux this week 😳
Useful tips. The best thing I ever did was get some skid pan training, and then practice on an old airstrip in the ice.
My big issue with winter driving is slopes - I live in the bottom of a valley and the only way out is up a steep hill, not nice in the ice!
My big issue with winter driving is slopes - I live in the bottom of a valley and the only way out is up a steep hill, not nice in the ice!
The best tip for British winters is to get non-studded winter tyres. They don't damage the road, they don't wear out as fast as studded tyres and they help A LOT in slippery conditions compared to summer tyres. Grip is everything.
That said there are situations where your car skids in the weirdest conditions. First ice here was last week and even with winter tyres and going round a roundabout at 15km/h I was able to get a proper skid. It was just too slippery.
That's why skid pan training and empty parking lots and airfields, as mentioned above, are essential - can practice at low speeds.
That said there are situations where your car skids in the weirdest conditions. First ice here was last week and even with winter tyres and going round a roundabout at 15km/h I was able to get a proper skid. It was just too slippery.
That's why skid pan training and empty parking lots and airfields, as mentioned above, are essential - can practice at low speeds.
How much does ESP and traction control really help? This will be my first winter driving an 08 plate mondeo with both.
They help, but not against the laws of physics. If you have winter tyres and are driving at below highway speeds then it's very hard to loose control over the car, unless driving on pure ice. Traction control helps with taking off, but again - tyres. Traction control won't help much on ice with summer tyres. If you switch it on the car won't allow you to rev high enough to even get going and if you turn it off then you will spin the weels.
ESP helps with the sideways motion, it brakes 1 wheel to force the car to go where your wheels are turning. If you're going 50mph to a corner then not much help, but at lower speeds and on reasonable road conditions it's a real lifesaver. Can be forced to do some tricks too.
For example on a front-wheel drive car it is possible with ESP to force a powerslide similar to a rear-wheel drive car. It breaks the inner rear wheel acting like a mini-handbrake. I've driven one with both and have pushed it to the limit in winter conditions. At about 45mph I started turning the wheel left-and-right rapidly, the car swung sideways a couple of times but always remained where I pointed the wheels, very good.
Great post.
I have odd handling in ice since i've got a light mid-engine rwd car so this year put some winter tyres on it after the snow last year but as yet no snow so cant tell if they are worth their money yet since just about managed with summer tyres last year.
I have odd handling in ice since i've got a light mid-engine rwd car so this year put some winter tyres on it after the snow last year but as yet no snow so cant tell if they are worth their money yet since just about managed with summer tyres last year.
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Good info thank for posting it,
I hope i get to put some of this into practice , but, in an empty car park when i choose rather than when im driving down the street or even worse on the highway or motorway
I hope i get to put some of this into practice , but, in an empty car park when i choose rather than when im driving down the street or even worse on the highway or motorway
It might be worth mentioning that if you take your foot off the accelerator in a rear wheel drive car when you have limited grip (i.e. skidding) then this may make the rear wheels to skid more and round you go! In a rear wheel drive car if you are skidding it is genarally good advice to NOT to do sudden changes. Yes you need to back off but don't just lift off as this may result in lift of oversteer.
Most interesting point here is the need to practice your skills in a safe environment, I remember throwing a new car around an airfield in NI one of the bosses went mental, when he shouted 'What the ********** do you think you are doing' I replied' getting to a point where the car and I are at one Sir might save our lives one day' no need to tell you of his response, but strangely three days later the snow fell and the Limavady road went 'black ice wins' but not for the New Audi in the fleet- fire up the Audi didn't belong to Gene Hunt:
Who are you talking too? No one said anything about driving since 7th of Jan and you wait nearly 2 months to have a go?
Is it jeep withdraw symptoms?
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